Conner Hanson pleads guilty to having meth in jail

Conner Hanson
Conner Bryan Hanson is escorted into Minnehaha County Court in February. His lawyer plans to argue that a fatal shooting in January was done in self defense.(Photo: Argus Leader file photo)Buy Photo

A Sioux Falls man caught with meth while serving time in jail for assault and stalking an ex-girlfriend pleaded guilty to ingesting the drug Tuesday.

Conner Byron Hanson, 20, pleaded guilty to ingesting methamphetamine, a class 5 felony, and admitted to a prior controlled substance ingestion in Brookings County in 2016. A charge of possessing unauthorized articles in jail was dropped as part of the plea deal.

According to an affidavit, Hanson told authorities he had sat down to play a card game with other inmates and one of them offered him a drink of their coffee. He took a drink of the coffee and said it "tasted funny."

He asked the inmate what was in the coffee and the inmate said "meth," according to an affidavit. Hanson said he "became upset" with the inmate because he didn't know it was methamphetamine.

Buy Photo

(Photo: Katie Nelson/Argus Leader)

He admitted in court Tuesday that he did know he was ingesting methamphetamine.

Hanson was sentenced to seven years in the state penitentiary, with seven years suspended. He was given credit for the 112 days he's spent in jail and must serve an additional 180 days concurrent with his current sentence.

"I'm really trying to better myself," Hanson told Judge Jon Sogn. "I want to be better for my family. I really want to go down the right path from now on."

A member of the gallery did not see it that way.

The man, who identified himself as a cousin of a man whom Hanson shot and killed during a chase near The Empire Mall in 2015, was upset Hanson received a light sentence Tuesday.